Monday, June 23, 2008

Details details

This post will be brief as I hear thunder in the background and I have had a bad experience in my past with a modem and lightening - not that I'm afraid of the elements but I really need to keep my laptop functioning at the moment. And besides it's getting late and my to-do list hasn't gotten any shorter today - it grew.

I see it's been a few days since I posted and they have been full ones with all the planning going on. There is air fare booked via Iceland Air from Halifax to London so now the only chore is deciding where to stay in Iceland - urban or rural and regardless there is nothing under $200 per night. The next step is transfer from Heathrow to Southampton and accomodation there as there's not much point in staying in London especially near the airport. We're all paid up for the cruise as well as having boarding letters in hand so except for the presentations the details are getting settled.

I've been doing some research on Norway / the marine industry / lobstering there for the presentations with the help of the in-house marine data source who incidentally took exception to the descriptor 'expert' in my topic description. As I told him "I am an expert on many things, maybe not exactly this but I'm certainly more knowledgeable than landlocked tourists" to which he had to agree. I have a lead on some more data for the 'life in the slow lane' topic and have been polling locals on their thoughts. So I'm feeling good about my chances of pulling it all together.

I did a bit of shopping for myself and the shore captain after finishing up a rotten workday today. It was by 9:30 a.m. the kind of day which (if I were not going on an exotic vacation shortly) would send me screaming to the job postings. I managed to find mister a couple of shirts and dress pants, socks (not his usual thermal Kodiak work ones) and send his suits to the cleaners so he is well underway in the planning department. I felt that all the personal shopper services deserved the top and linen pants which were a sale too good to be passed up.

My friend has confirmed that she'll be my travel partner for the Maritimes/New England 10 day cruise in October. Yeehaw. We will have a great time. We've already decided that we'll add an extra day in New York and see a Broadway show after the cruise. And the best part is that she looks after and dresses herself. Can't wait.

What could be better? To be retired and not have to get up to face work in the a.m. but that is for another daydream.